Paper Boat is the consumer-facing brand of Hector Beverages that sells traditional Indian fruit-based drinks and packaged juices through ecommerce and expanded distribution. The business pivoted from an initial energy drink (Tzinga) to a wide portfolio of traditional flavours such as aam panna, jaljeera, Jamun Kala Khatta, Chilli Guava, Nimbu Pani, Kokum and others. It has begun extending into adjacent FMCG categories and recently launched small-size snack assortments including peanut chikki, sesame chikki and aam papad. The company is targeting deeper penetration into Tier II and III Indian markets as part of its growth strategy. Financial filings show Hector Beverages reported revenue of Rs 189.56 crore in FY2019, up 62% from Rs 116.94 crore in FY2018, while losses narrowed slightly from Rs 61.03 crore to Rs 59.88 crore. Hector Beverages produces the ethnic-drink brand Paper Boat and also sells Tzinga, with Paper Boat accounting for roughly 75% of sales. The company sells online, has begun exporting to the US, Malaysia and Dubai, and partnered with Indo Nissin Foods to double retail contact points to 30,000. Its existing two factories in Manesar and Mysore have a combined capacity of 10 million units a month; the company sells about 7–8 million units monthly and plans a third Mysore plant with an additional 8 million units/month capacity. Revenue rose 42.6% to Rs 15.9 crore in 2013–14 per MCA filings; financials for the latest year were not available. Hector plans to use new capital to launch four Paper Boat flavours, expand manufacturing and distribution, hire senior executives and run another television campaign in September–October. In May the food regulator ordered a recall of Tzinga as unsafe; the company has applied for reformulation and the product is currently off shelves. Hector Beverages manufactures the Tzinga energy drink and has recently launched Paper Boat, a range of traditional beverages. The company is positioned to capitalize on the Indian beverages market. It closed an $8 million investment round to support growth. Hector says it will use the funds primarily for marketing and to expand production capacity. Leadership highlights the strategic value of its new partner Sequoia Capital and its consumer expertise and network.

Total raised

$41M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Mar 2020